Archive for August, 2016

Supporting the right veteran based nonprofit organizations has become a crapshoot lately. An organization of veteran owned and supporting companies have discovered the answer to this. This group formed “Veterans Forward Operating Base/Family of Brands (VFOB),” which answered the problem this, way:

What if every time you purchased a product you were directly supporting military and first responder veterans and their families?

Many residents and guests of the Flathead Valley in Montana did just that on July 23, 2016, at the first annual “Veterans Family of Brands Outdoors Expo,” and raised over $42,000. The proceeds from this event went to support the Special Operations Wounded Warriors and the Lone Survivor Foundation. Both of these organizations give over 95% of their donated money to the veterans they support.

The Expo was the creation of VFOB companies to showcase the veteran owned and supporting products from this group and other local outdoor industries.

The event had 40 vendors in attendance and was hosted at the Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork, MT. The backdrop to the show was the Benghazi Memorial, the only memorial in the nation dedicated to those who died in Benghazi. This memorial is located at the Flathead Lake Lodge and was paid for and located by the generosity of the people of the Flathead Valley and other Americans.

Targeting Special Operations Wounded Warriors, and the Lone Survivor Foundation for their donations was an easy decision. The Special Operations Wounded Warriors (SOWW) is a foundation, not affiliated with Wounded Warrior Project, that is dedicated to the American warriors collectively known as Special Operations. These are the warriors who do not receive recognition because of the secretive nature of their missions. This foundation provides funds for scholarships of their dependents and recovery of their wounded soldiers.

Additionally funds were earmarked for the Lone Survivor Foundation, Marcus Luttrell’s foundation, whose mission is to restore, empower, and renew hope for our service members and their families.

While both of these nonprofits are reputable, they are just two of the ones that Veterans Family of Brands supports. There is a strict qualification process for the group to be able to add a non-profit to their list. The first of which is that they must be veteran supporting. The second, and just as important, is that they must give 95% or more of their budget back to their charitable mission. The 2017 event will be focused on making the funds raised for veterans living in the Flathead Valley.

A host of Special Operations Warriors and Televisions Hunting Show Celebrities were in attendance to include,
Ron Bellan (Seal) Host of Reaper Outdoors

John “Tig” Tiegan, mesmerized the crowd at a charity dinner for the event with the true and accurate story of what truly happened in Benghazi. Tig told the story in a way that only soldiers who have walked in that shadow could. As a surprise gift, Tig was given a NEMO Omen //Recon in .300 Win Mag by Karen Gerrard, one of the dinners guests who purchased the rifle at the Live Auction during that night.

There were also many veterans in attendance to included Navy Seals, Green Berets, Army Rangers, Marine Recon, and many others. These veterans came from many different wars from Viet Nam, the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan deployments. The dedication of these veterans and the other volunteers are determined to make this annual show a success and plan to enlarge the 2017 show from 40 to over 200 exhibitors, including live fire demonstrations and shooting competitions.

The second annual Expo is currently being scheduled for August 4 – 6, 2017.

This past weekend concluded the 2016 Nightforce Precision Tactical 2 Rifle Match. The match was a success for unveiling and proofing a new match format, one where competitors fire both carbines and precision rifles on the same stages. This was a field match, held across the Coal Canyon area of the NRA Whittington Center. Targets and shooting positions were placed across the natural terrain instead of on a traditional square range.

Competitors fired over 200 rounds of carbine and up to 100 rounds of precision rifle across the 10 stages. Carbine targets ranged from as close as 3 yards to as far as 400 yards. Precision rifle targets ranged between 300 and 890 yards. At the start of each stage, all competitors had to carry their gear and configure their rifles and shooting positions on the clock.

BASIC SHAPE
• Focus on female anatomy driven by the need support and stability.
• Solution: Shape carrier and ballistics to have an inset/cut-in above the breast tissue to accommodate shoulder rotation, female anatomy and allow for shouldering weapon.

PLATE LOCATION
• Current female systems lacked the ability to provide proper plate placement. The placement of the plate
did not lay flat on the torso of female participants. It would lay at an angle, applying pressure to the breast tissue area. This ultimately took away from the ballistic performance of the plate and soft armor.
• Solution: The front of the female carrier incorporates a gusseted plate pocket. This pocket relieves tension and pressure that is normally placed on the body from the hard plate in typical plate pocket configurations. This enhances the users range of motion to allow for increased ergonomics and performance. It also provides decreased hot spots on the body by utilizing our airflow chamber technology.

LOAD CARRIAGE
• In the past, load carriage has typically been static and designed in a vertical alignment which does not self-adjust with the operator’s natural movements.
• Solution: Female shaped components such as the shoulders, yoke, collar and belt were created to enhance the overall female system.

Introducing the TYR Tactical Female EPIC Non- Cutaway System (TYR-F-EPIC-NC). It was designed to ensure proper area of coverage while enhancing the users range of motion. This both increases the ergonomics and performance of the carrier.

The Female EPIC Non-Cutaway also incorporates our Patent Pending Female Shape. Two lateral darts contour around the females natural shape while still providing a full range of motion, support and eliminates excess compression on the breast tissue.

It’s engineered utilizing TYR’s revolutionary PV material which offers significant weight reduction with increased resistance to abrasion. PVhas been tested to have 7-10 times higher abrasion resistance than standard mil spec nylon. PV also enhances the ballistic attributes of armor within the vest. Antimicrobial/FR treated padded spacer mesh is used internally for comfort.

Introducing the TYR Tactical General Plate Carrier- Rescue Task Force Vest (TYR-GPC-RTF). It was specifically designed for Fire and EMS rescue personnel when responding to violent/active incidents. This carrier allows Rescue personnel to have level IV ballistic protection front and back and allows either level II or level IIIA side armor protection when working in the forward warm and hot zones of an incident.

It’s engineered utilizing TYR’s revolutionary PV material which offers significant weight reduction with increased resistance to abrasion. PV has been tested to have 7-10 times higher abrasion resistance than standard mil spec nylon. PV also enhances the ballistic attributes of armor within the vest. Antimicrobial/FR treated padded spacer mesh is used internally for comfort.

We’ve given you previews of all three of these new pouches over the last few months and now they are all available from our friends at Blue Force Gear. They are offered in Coyote, OD, Wolf and MultiCam.

Blue Force Gear announces three new additions to its line of tactical pouches. Focusing on the need of essentials during mission-critical situations, the new additions include the Medium Dump Pouch to serve as a larger version of the company’s Ultralight Dump Pouch, the Water Bottle Pouch, designed around water as a necessity, and the SAW Pouch which can be used as a universal utility pouch.

The Medium Dump Pouch is a larger dump pouch that is able to be stowed and was designed for extended overt use. A “fish trap” style flap at the top allows magazines and other items to be immediately stowed, but offers additional security over traditional open top dump pouches. This added security keeps all items stowed when going to prone or getting in or out of vehicles.

The Water Pouch is a lightweight pouch that can hold a 1-liter Nalgene® bottle or a 1-quart canteen. Hydration is essential regardless of your area of responsibility. The Water Bottle Pouch allows you to have water in a convenient, accessible location on your battle belt, vest, armor carrier or on the side of packs.

The SAW Pouch was designed to hold a 200-round M249 SAW drum, but is a great all-around utility pouch. Noticeably different from any other pouch in the Helium Whisper® line, the body of the pouch is constructed of ULTRAcomp™. This allows the pouch to keep its shape better than ballistic nylon and also offers greater wear and abrasion resistance, especially helpful when holding items with sharp edges or corners.

Morgan Advanced Materials, a leading global manufacturer of specialist armour technology and soldier systems used by elite military and law enforcement applications, has finalised a reseller agreement with Level Peaks Associates, an internationally-renowned distributor of military equipment.

As part of the agreement, Level Peaks will be supplying products made by Morgan’s Composites and Defence business to help satisfy the demands of the global military equipment market. These will include selected items from Morgan’s acclaimed LASA™ (Lightweight Armoured Soldier Architecture) range of soldier protection equipment, including ultra-lightweight scalable ballistic inserts.

Jim Clarke, Head of Solutions at Level Peaks, commented: “Morgan’s LASATM soldier protection range is synonymous with class leading composite armour technology and innovation. By adding such an esteemed range of products to our portfolio, our mission to deliver the best in soldier protection systems where there is a demand can be realised.”

Duncan Eldridge, President of Morgan’s Composites and Defence business, added: “As an agency founded and staffed largely by army veterans, Level Peaks is without doubt one of the most trusted suppliers of military protection in the world. Their understanding of the challenges faced by military and law enforcement personnel places them in a strong position to promote our leading protection products to an international audience.

“We are proud to work in collaboration with such a prestigious partner, whose network of customers and credibility with the military and law enforcement communities will help consolidate Morgan’s position within the global market.”

I enjoyed VLMS’s Little Box of Violence for several months, but it is no more. The Little Box of Violence is Dead, long live the Little Bag of Violence!

Dear People of Violence,

The Little Box of Violence just got a whole lot more affordable! Its now $30.00 with Free US Shipping! We’re renaming it to the Little BAG of Violence since its now in a bag to save on weight so it doesn’t have to go Priority anymore. The first BAG will ship on September 12th…and its a beaut if you like the seedy underbelly of Vietnam…and also hate people that park like assholes (ok, no more hints). We’ve refined the offering to give the majority of you what you liked best, exclusive, limited edition patches and shirts…with a twist of bullshit. We cut out all the bullshit people didn’t want. Only about 50 new signups available!

The new bag features a limited edition and exclusive-to-bag-subscribers T-shirt & Patch, plus a mystery item that will most likely get you arrested, or heavily fined for using it (but not illegal to possess).